We are four English Filology students from Rovira i Virgili University (Tarragona) who have created this blog in order to share our opinions about some films we recommend to watch

miércoles, 28 de noviembre de 2012

PROOF OF LIFE

PROOF OF LIFE

Cast: Meg Ryan, Russell Crowe,
David Morse

Director: Taylor Hackford

Year: 2000

Peter Bowman (David Morse), an American engineer,
is living with his wife (Alice) and building
a dam in the (fictional) city of Tecala, sited in South America ,when he is kidnapped
by antigovernment forces during an intrusion in the city.

Alice (Meg Ryan) immediately turns to Peter’s
corporation (sited in Houston) and they immediately provide help through Terry Thome’s
(Russel Crowe) services, an ex-soldier turned kidnap and ransom
professional negotiator. Terry immediately takes charge of the matter, but
unfortunately after few days, news from Houston communicate to Alice that they
are in a hard economic situation and consequently have no budget to afford the
hostage insurance. However, the negotiator being already really involved with
the case; decides to keep working on it on his own.

Due to this sudden situation things become
complicated since they have no economic support to pay the ransom that Peter’s rescue
costs. Thenceforward Terry starts preparing himself a rescue plan for Peter with
some old colleagues’ help.

While this process and plan is being carried
on, a close relation occurs between Terry and Alice, a kind of opposed feelings
grow between them: Alice feels attracted to Terry but she is still worried and
suffering about her husband’s situation, on the other hand Terry being extremely
professional with his work and having always in mind the reason why he is
there; cannot avoid feeling the same attraction to his client.

While watching the film there are two outstanding
senses found: impossible attraction/relation and suffering mixed, so there is a
bittersweet feeling transmitted during the whole movie.

The whole cast work it’s amazing, they reach
the goal of performing in a perfect and realistic way.

As an absolute personal opinion I must admit
that since the first time I saw this film became one of my favorites because
the opposed feelings encountered.

One of the other occurrences in the movie that seems
interesting to me is that through this kind of reports/films we can see how
people who live in poor and underdeveloped countries have to act in order to
protect and be able to feed themselves and their family. Nevertheless from my
point of view it would not justify innocent people who’s just working or trying
to help them having to pay and suffer for politic mistakes or deals.